On Aug. 13 we kicked off our campaign to stop subprime car lenders from ripping off low-income Minnesotans like James of Brooklyn Park who paid over $15,000 for a car that is worth about $3,500 – and barely runs.

CarHop 400We released a report, in partnership with HedgeClippers Minnesota, linking CarHop to a San Francisco private equity manager who claims to be a “values driven” investor with high ethical standards while he makes big profits from shady and even illegal business practices that drive his customers deeper and deeper into poverty.  You can read the report here or download it here.

More and more low-income and working class Minnesotans are getting ripped off by CarHop, the high-cost/high-hassle predatory car sales & loan chain operating in low-income and working-class communities across our state.

This predatory auto loan financing corporation is just one example of the many industries now being driven by private equity and hedge fund barons who work with CEOs experienced in ripping off low-income and working class consumers, skating across the edges of the law, making exorbitant profits and living in luxury, far from the struggles of their customers.

At today’s rally in front of CarHop, we stood with James and called on the private equity firm that owns CarHop to change its practices.